Frank Sinatra Jr., who took over his father’s legacy by following in his footsteps died Wednesday. He was 72.

Even though they called him Frank Sinatra Jr, his real name was Francis Wayne Sinatra — his father’s full name was Francis Albert Sinatra — but he went professionally by Frank Sinatra Jr.

The ministère des Transports, de la Mobilité durable et de l’Électrification des transports wishes to inform all travelers that the Honoré-Mercier Bridge will be completely closed towards Montréal from Friday March 18^th at 10 p.m. to Monday March 21^st at 5 a.m.

This closure is required to repair the structural damage due to the accident on February 18^th. For security reasons, the bridge will be completely closed along with the acces ramps from Routes 132 and 138. However, the two lanes towards the south shore will remain opened.

The road users will be able to cross by the other bridges or tunnel to access the island of Montréal.

Those interventions might be shortened or cancelled due to work progression, weather conditions or operational constraints.

Respecting road signs is vital for the safety of road users and workers.

(SOURCE: Ministère des Transports, de la Mobilité durable et de l’Électrification des transports)

When the weather is cool, it’s nice to light up a fire to keep warm. Often we throw any log or wood that is handy into the fire. Be careful though, that you don’t throw pressure treated wood on the fire. Burning pressure treated wood in your fireplace, or even outside in your fire pit, can release toxic chemicals that are dangerous to your health.

Pressure treated wood contains wood preservatives, which are pesticides that are used to extend the product life of wood. These chemicals help to reduce rot, wood-eating insects, and weathering.

Burning treated wood concentrates and releases these preservative chemicals in the ash and smoke of a fire, which can pose both health and environmental risks.

What you should do

You should never burn treated wood. You should be able to easily determine if your wood is treated as it usually contains dyes or stains in various shades of brown or green. Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA) treated wood is no longer sold for use in residential settings, but may still be available in older structures; it has a light green colour and should not be burned either.

Report health and safety concerns

If you have been exposed to burning treated wood for prolonged periods, and feel ill, you should seek medical attention immediately.

(SOURCE: Health Canada)

Up to know when resident’s living in Laval have any type of emergency, big or small, they dial 911 or 311 for city related issues. “COMING SOON”, by dialing 211, the residents of Laval will have access to a wealth of information.  The “Information and Referral Centre of Greater Montreal” (IRCGM), has agreed to provide the service on a contract basis which will have an average cost of $60,000 per year.

The service is offered in both official languages.  The service will be able to assist people with information regarding simple items like food and shelter, where’s the nearest clinic or hospital, or with assistance with more serious issues like mental health issues.  The “211” service will be available to all Laval residents, by phone, seven-days-a-week, from 8 a.m.-6 p.m.

(alexandra@newsfirst.ca)

(TLN) Just before the Christmas holidays, Sainte-Rose Liberal MNA Jean Habel paid tribute in a speech in the Quebec National Assembly to the courage of Matthew Schreindorfer and his wife. Habel then had a surprise for them: a special meeting with Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard.

“One the one hand, I had wanted to thank Mr. Habel for his second statement as an MNA that he made in my honour,” Schreindorfer said. “I would also like to thank him for the meeting with our premier and for his support through all these ordeals.”

As previously reported in the Laval News, Matthew Schreindorfer was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in June 2014. Since then, he underwent all the treatments possible within the Canadian medical system.

He underwent a further experimental treatment in New York City at a cost of more than $800,000 that he and his wife, Katia Luciani, raised from donors. Although he was declared cancer-free last September, Schreindorfer learned earlier this month that cancer cells have again been found in his bone marrow.

Habel said he was impressed by Schreindorfer’s ordeal. “I wanted to point out the combativeness, determination and strength of Mr. Schreindorfer and his wife which is an example and a source of inspiration for us all,” Habel said. “They have shown courage out of the ordinary all through this sickness and I wanted to show this.”

(TLN) The New Year did not start well for four Laval women caught in Albany NY for a “Grandparent Scam operation”.

On January 7, Christina M. Antonakakis, 29, Sophia Mikelakis, 57, Nora Apkarian, 42, and Anahid Apkarian, 61, traveled from Laval, to the Albany area to pick up cash packages at a UPS store sent by their various victims, or have a legitimate carrier pick up the package and bring it to them at a hotel, but they were arrested before the operation was completed.

In the police operation took part the New York State Police Special Investigations Unit in Albany, the Menands Police Department, the U.S. Postal Inspector’s Office and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations which they say they made the arrests after an investigation into an organized criminal operation based out of Laval.

Police say the operation targeted the elderly community in what is known as a “Grandparent Scam”.

How the Grandparent Scam works

In this scam, an anonymous person contacts an elderly person either by phone or email, and identifies himself as their grandson. He indicates that he has been arrested in another state and needs money quickly to pay for bail. He advises that the grandparent cannot tell his parents because he doesn’t want to upset them. A second person then gets on the phone and identifies himself as a police officer. The alleged police officer advises where and how to send the cash to pay for the bail. The officer then advises the grandparent if another agency contacts them, the other agency is scamming them, and they should not provide any information to them.

The four women face charges of third-degree criminal possession of stolen property. Antonakakis and Mikelakis are also charged with 3rd degree attempted grand larceny. Antonakakis and Mikelakis were granted bail of $30,000 US each while the mother and daughter Apkarians were given bail of $35,000 US each, said to The Laval News New York State Police trooper William Duffy. 

“It is interesting that here we have two mother-daughters duo”, added trooper Duffy

Phone scam capital

It turns out, that the area code 514 and 450 is to phone scams what Nigeria is to email fraud. Vancouver, Toronto, and bilingual Montreal have long been hubs of call centers for reputable firms—for catalog sales or orders for parts—and less-than-reputable enterprises pushing, say, credit cards to the financially vulnerable. (In the mid-2000s, some of those legitimate call centers were outsourced to places where labor is cheap, such as India, the Philippines.) The metropolitan area of Montreal which includes Laval, is the Queen City of the grandparent scam, as well as a whole litany of other frauds, many of them aimed at telephone numbers in the U.S.

It is estimated that phone scams targeting USA citizens surpass annually 3 billion dollars.